3538. 'Which were with her in the house' means which come from Divine Good by way of the Divine Truth of the Divine Rational. This is clear from the representation of Rebekah, to whom the pronoun 'her' refers here, as the Divine Truth of the Divine Rational, dealt with already, and from the meaning of 'the house' as Divine Good in this instance because it has reference to the Lord. As regards 'house' meaning good, see 710, 2233, 2234, 2559, 3128. The reason why these considerations are meant by the words 'which were with her in the house' is that 'the house' means the rational both as regards good and as regards truth, or what amounts to the same, as regards both the will part of the mind, the dwelling-place of good, and the understanding part, the dwelling-place of truth. When the rational functions from the will or from good, by way of the understanding or of truth, the rational mind in that case is called 'one house'. This also is why heaven itself is called 'the house of God', for heaven consists of nothing else than good and truth, with good functioning through truth united or joined to itself. This is also represented in marriages in which husband and wife constitute one house, the reason being that conjugial love originates in the Divine marriage of good and truth, 2728, 2729, 3132, and forms the will of the two of them by virtue of good. There is a difference however, which is like the relationship of good to its own truth. Consequently 'husband' also means good and 'wife' truth. For when the house is one, good is in that case the all in it, and truth, being wedded to good, is good as well. The reason why the phrase 'with her in the house' is used, and not with him or with them, is that the subject is the state of conjunction of truth and good, that is, the state prior to their being fully united or joined together. This state is dealt with next.

3128. 'And told [those of] her mother's house all about these things' means towards whatever natural good enlightenment was able to reach. This is clear from the meaning of 'mother's house' as the good of the external man, that is, natural good. For 'a house' means good, see 2233, 2234, ¹ 2559; and man's external or natural is received from the mother, but his internal from the father, 1815. In the Word the good that exists with a person is compared to 'a house', and for that reason one who is governed by good is called 'the House of God'. But internal good is called one's 'father's house', while good of an identical degree is spoken of as one's 'brethren's house', and external good, which is the same as natural good, is referred to as one's 'mother's house'. Furthermore all good and truth is born in this fashion, that is to say, by means of the influx of internal good as the father into external good as the mother.

[2] Since the subject in this verse is the origin of truth that was to be joined to good in the Rational it is therefore said that Rebekah, who represents that truth, 'ran to her mother's house', for this is where truth originates. As stated and shown above, all good flows in by an internal route, that is, by way of the soul, into man's rational, and through the rational into his factual knowledge, and even into his sensory awareness, and by means of enlightenment there causes truths to be seen. From there truths are summoned, stripped of the natural form they possess, and joined to good in the mid-way position, that is to say, in the rational, and together constitute the rational man, and at length the spiritual man. How all this is effected however is quite unknown to anyone, for at the present day scarcely any knowledge exists of what good is or of its being distinct and separate from truth. Still less does anyone know that a person is reformed by means of the influx of good into truth and by the joining together of the two. Nor is it known that the rational is distinct and separate from the natural. And since these matters which are very general are unknown, it cannot possibly be known how truth is introduced into good, and how the joining together of these two is effected - which are the things dealt with in this chapter in the internal sense. Now seeing that these arcana have been revealed and are open to view to any who are governed by good, that is, who have minds like those of angels, such arcana, no matter how obscure they may appear to others, must be explained since they are in the internal sense.

[3] Regarding that enlightenment, which comes from good by way of truth in the natural man, here called 'the mother's house', the position is that Divine Good with man flows into his rational, and through the rational into his natural, and even into his factual knowledge, that is, into the cognitions and matters of doctrine there, as has been stated. Then by fitting the truths there to itself, inflowing Divine Good shapes them for itself, and by means of them enlightens everything in the natural man. But if the life of the natural man is such that it does not receive Divine Good, but either rejects, or perverts, or stifles it, Divine Good cannot fit truths to itself and so shape them for itself. As a consequence the natural cannot be enlightened any longer, for enlightenment in the natural man is effected by good through truths; and when there is no longer any enlightenment no reformation can take place. This is the reason why in the internal sense also so much reference is made to the nature of the natural man, and so to the origin of truth, namely that it arises from the good there.

Notes de bas de page: